


i'd sing a song (but I sang 'em all to another heart)

by symphony7inAmajor



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blow Jobs, Breaking Up & Making Up, Established Relationship, Getting Back Together, Getting Together, Hopeful Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Polyamory Negotiations, Threesome - M/M/M, basically past vs future but mostly Present, happy and hopeful idk, i can't craft a rare pair without making it ot3, it's like. confusing, mark scheifele's harem of american boys, narratives narratives narratives, oh and they also fuck, tiny hint of praise kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 11:41:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22674226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/symphony7inAmajor/pseuds/symphony7inAmajor
Summary: Jacob comes back to Winnipeg for the first time on February eleventh and the Jets lose 4-1 to the Rangers.It isn't the game that makes the biggest impression, though. It's what comes after.(moving on is always hard; what if you don't have to?)
Relationships: Kyle Connor/Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor/Mark Scheifele/Jacob Trouba, past Jacob Trouba/Mark Scheifele
Comments: 8
Kudos: 68





	i'd sing a song (but I sang 'em all to another heart)

**Author's Note:**

> you thought i was done with jets rare pairings, didn't you? think again! 
> 
> listen the #narrative of troubs and scheif is unparalleled. scheif big spoon canon: simply scroll down jacob's insta for the birthday post he made for scheif in 2014 for the evidence! also scheif saying he's only ever sung for his mom and for troubs. then booping him on the nose. personally hurting my feelings!
> 
> but aside from that narrative, i also live and die for the narrative of scheif and his like. harem of american boys. simply look at this man. and also the theme of trying to move on! struggling! being Torn! contracts! ugh i was really just totally sauced about this for like... a while.
> 
> title from "another love" by tom odell because like. it's a VERY them song.

Jacob is back.

It’s not like Kyle hadn’t known when the Rangers were scheduled to come to Winnipeg and it’s not like he hadn’t known that it was going to be strange. Uncomfortable. He tells himself it’s fine.

Warmups seem okay. Mark barely even looks at the other side of the ice and he laughs when Kyle checks him against the boards, just like always. 

Kyle almost thinks it’s going to be alright.

After warmups, though, Mark comes into the locker room with a strained look on his face and doesn’t look anybody in the eyes.

He hates that Jacob can do this to Mark, still, even after all this time.

Mark sits in his locker and pushes his hands through his hair while everyone else pretends not to notice.

Blake elbows Kyle in the ribs and jerks his head at Mark. “Go,” he says quietly.

Kyle looks at Mark warily. He’s not sure what it would take for him to fly apart completely, but he’s scared of making things worse. “Are you sure?” he asks, hoping his captain will tell him what’s right.

Blake nods, a pained expression on his face. He knows more than most people about what happened between Mark and Jacob. More than Kyle does, which stings a little, but Blake was _ here _ for all of it. “He needs you,” Blake says firmly. “And we need him.”

He’s right, of course. As usual.

Kyle feels almost awkward crossing the locker room to sit beside Mark, close enough that he can press their shoulders together. He doesn’t say anything, waiting patiently for Mark to take a deep breath and sit up straight.

“Hey,” Mark says with a sigh.

“Hi.” Kyle knocks the heels of their skates together beneath the bench. “Are you going to be okay?”

Mark opens his mouth to respond, then stops. Closes it. Frowns. “I don’t know,” he answers, and there’s something fragile in his voice that almost makes Kyle flinch.

Kyle takes his hand instead and rubs his thumb over the back of Mark’s knuckles. “Can you be okay for the game, at least?” he asks. “We need you. _ I _ need you.” He isn’t talking about hockey, then, and he knows Mark knows.

“I can try,” Mark says. “I’m just—” He breaks off. “It’s hard to see him. Back here, I mean.”

Kyle knows what he means. They played the Rangers back in the fall, the first game of the season for both teams. The first _ loss _ of the season for the Jets. He and Mark had scored that night. So had Jacob.

Kyle doesn’t like to think about that game.

“I know,” Kyle says. Jacob had been his friend, too. 

He thinks about Jacob’s overtime goal against the Blues after the Jets had come back to win, Jacob knocking the puck in off Kyle’s rebound from a pass from Mark. Kyle and Mark had crashed into him, the three of them yelling and laughing and hanging off each other, back when 2018 still felt like it could be something.

Before 2019. Before January.

Mark doesn’t talk much about what had happened between him and Jacob over the last half of that season. Kyle knows their relationship had its highs and lows over the years, that the highs were high and the lows were so, so low. All he knows is that something had started to fall apart last winter, and Jacob was gone by June.

Kyle had been uncertain when Mark had asked him out after camp, promising he didn’t just want a rebound or an easy fuck, but his uncertainty had faded more each time Mark insisted on taking it slow. He’d given Kyle the softest kiss on the cheek after their first date and nothing more.

It’s been a while since then and they’ve done a lot more than sweet kisses on cheeks, but Kyle still thinks of that warm press of Mark’s lips against his blushing skin as the moment he really, irrevocably fell in love with him.

That’s what makes it so much harder to see him like this.

Mark squeezes his hand. “I’ll be okay,” he says. He smiles. The expression is tense, but at least he’s trying. “You help a lot.” He presses a quick kiss to the back of Kyle’s hand before they have to get back on the ice.

Kyle feels much lighter when he leaves the dressing room this time.

The game is—it’s bad. Kyle does his job as best he can and he can tell that Mark, steady to his right, is forcing himself to do his. It stings a little to be on the ice for the first Rangers goal while Jacob cellies with his teammates, even though the fans boo him every time he touches the puck.

It was a messy breakup for them, too, Kyle figures.

He keeps an eye on Mark during the first intermission, but he seems to be doing better now that he has the game to focus on properly. Kyle exhales and hopes it stays this way.

They go into the second hoping to score. Instead, Jacob grabs him from behind and gets his stick tangled in Kyle’s legs, sending him sprawling. Jacob goes to the box and barely even _ looks _at Kyle, shouting at the ref as he skates off but turning away before Kyle is even properly upright.

The Rangers score again, and again, and _ again, _ and Kyle is out there with Mark for _ three _of them.

Maybe he’s not as okay as Kyle thought.

Nikolaj’s goal returns some energy to the bench and Kyle thinks, for a little while, that maybe they can do it. Then Patrik hits the post again, and they can’t score on the powerplay, and they can’t score on a four on one, and Patrik’s stick breaks, and still nothing gets by Shesterkin.

The final buzzer goes and Kyle trudges back down to the dressing room. He’d hoped, at least, that they could win. Maybe he thought somewhere way, way down in his subconsciousness, that if they won tonight, it would help… something. It was probably silly.

After the game comes media and the questions about how it felt to play against Jacob, this time in their own building, the same building where Mark played with him for six years.

_ With him _ more than any of these reporters will ever know.

Kyle hears the edge in his voice when he answers and exhales in relief when it finally ends.

Mark finishes getting ready before him but he waits, sitting patiently in his locker while Kyle gets dressed. He isn’t watching, exactly, but Kyle knows he’s paying attention in that way he has. He tries not to think about it because the locker room is really not the place.

They gather their last few things and head out together.

“My place?” Mark asks. He smiles, almost tentatively, like he’s not sure if Kyle will agree. 

There are two days until they have to play next. Kyle licks his lips.

“Yeah,” he answers. “Let’s go.” He ignores his own car in the lot. He’ll pick it up later.

Mark drives. He reaches over once to squeeze Kyle’s thigh at a red light. It’s gentle and not too high and it’s... it’s nice. Almost reassuring.

They don’t leap at each other the second they get in the door like they would have a couple months ago, instead behaving like civilized adults, taking off their coats and shoes and getting inside properly. They’ve got all night. There’s no need to rush.

“Water?” Mark asks, dropping his keys and wallet onto the kitchen counter.

“Sure,” Kyle says, sliding onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar. He stretches his arms out in front of him, a bit like a cat, and sighs in satisfaction when his back cracks.

“Gross,” Mark says mildly, sliding his water over the marble surface and into Kyle’s waiting hand.

Kyle shakes himself off and takes a sip. “Be nice,” he says. He leans his elbows onto the table. “There might be something in it for you if you are.” He grins at Mark’s suspicious look.

Mark drains his own glass. Kyle watches his throat work and swallows hard. Mark sets the glass down and wipes his wet mouth with the back of his hand.

“Oh, really?” he says. He leans back against the counter and crosses his arms.

Kyle slides off the stool and steps up close to Mark so they’re pressed together, pushing Mark up against the counter. He places his hands on either side of Mark, caging him in. “We don’t have a game until Friday,” he says. He kisses Mark’s throat, soft and light. “I was thinking you could fuck me.” This time, he nips Mark’s skin.

Mark tugs at his shirt, pulling it free of his dress pants so he can tuck his hands underneath and touch Kyle’s waist. His fingers are cold and Kyle shivers. He bites down harder to make Mark hiss through his teeth at the sting.

“Sounds like a, ah, good idea to me,” Mark says. “But first I think you should kiss me properly or I might change my mind.”

Kyle grins into his shoulder before straightening up and tilting his face so Mark can kiss him on the mouth. They kiss for a long time, slow and deep while Mark drags his now-warm fingers up Kyle’s back.

Deftly, Kyle unbuttons Mark’s shirt and pushes it off his shoulders. Mark helps, shrugging it off and onto the kitchen floor before returning the favor by getting Kyle to take his shirt off, too. Their undershirts and belts soon follow and Mark is just pushing Kyle back so they can make their way to his bedroom when someone buzzes Mark’s apartment.

They both pause and look at each other, confused. It’s so late—who could be trying to visit at this hour?

Kyle realizes a split second before understanding crosses Mark’s face. Kyle winces as the tension that he’d hardly noticed had disappeared returns to Mark’s face, his shoulders stiffening and the corners of his mouth tilting down.

Kyle touches Mark’s face gently. “It’s okay,” he says. “I can go if you want to talk to him.”

Mark looks miserable, but he turns his face into Kyle’s hand and kisses his palm. “You don’t have to leave,” he says decisively. “You belong here, okay? This isn’t—” He frowns, searching for the words. “He gave up his right to belong here a long time ago.” He kisses Kyle one more time, quick and firm, then goes to answer the call.

Kyle picks up their discarded shirts and takes them to Mark’s room to hang them up. He pulls a hoodie out of Mark’s closet, then strips off his dress pants to put on sweats instead. His hair is pretty mussed when he looks in the mirror and he tries to settle it down by combing his fingers through it.

It doesn’t work all that well, but. It’s not like Jacob will have any illusions about what they were doing when he gets here.

Kyle grabs another sweater and tosses it to Mark where he’s sitting on the couch. Mark gives him a grateful smile and pulls it on, covering his bare torso. There’s still a hickey visible on his neck, just under his jaw. Kyle brushes his fingertips over it before sitting down.

“Sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to get so toothy.”

Mark grabs his ankle and shakes him a little. “Yes, you did,” he says, because he knows Kyle, “but I don’t mind.”

Kyle stretches out, resting his feet in Mark’s lap and leaning against the armrest. “He’s coming, then?” he asks. He nods towards the door.

“Yes,” Mark says. He digs his thumb into the back of Kyle’s calf, rubbing at a tight muscle there.

It hurts, but it feels good at the same time.

“Does he know? About us, I mean.” Kyle isn’t sure what Jacob is coming here for, if he’s going to be surprised to see Kyle on the couch dressed in Mark’s clothes. He doesn’t know if he should be worried.

Mark sighs. He shakes his head.

There’s a knock at the door.

Kyle leans forward to touch Mark’s shoulder, hoping to offer some reassurance, then Mark stands up and goes to answer. 

He hears quiet voices from the door, but he can’t make out what they’re saying. Kyle draws his knees into his chest, wrapping his arms around his shins and taking in a deep breath. 

Mark comes back into the room first. His mouth is a flat line, but his blue eyes are swirling with emotions.

Jacob is right behind him. He stops cold when he sees Kyle, staring at him like he thinks he might be hallucinating. His gaze passes over Kyle, taking in his rumpled appearance. His jaw works.

“Jake,” Kyle says. He keeps his voice as even as he can. He didn’t expect to feel like this—confused and angry and jealous but somehow relieved, too, like he’s glad that Jacob is here so Mark can get some kind of closure, at least. He hopes.

“KC,” Jacob answers stiffly. His gaze drops a tiny bit and his eyes widen, almost imperceptibly. “That’s my hoodie,” he says. His voice is faraway. He looks at Kyle, then at Mark.

“You left it here,” Mark says sharply. “It’s been years. I thought it was just one of mine.”

The hoodie is pretty nondescript, just simple gray and worn soft from years of washing and wear. If Kyle had found it in his own closet, he would’ve assumed he just didn’t remember buying it.

Clearly, Jacob remembers.

“You can have it back, if you want,” Kyle offers.

Jacob snorts. “Yeah, no,” he says. He sits down, finally, across from the couch in the armchair. He taps the armrest, then looks at Mark. “You move on quick, huh?” It sounds like he wants it to come out mean, but it ends up sad.

“Don’t,” Mark snaps. “Don’t do that, Jake. That’s not fair.” 

To Kyle’s surprise, Jacob deflates. His shoulders slump and his hands twist together in his lap. “I’m sorry,” Jacob says and that—

That shocks Mark, too, Mark who stares at Jacob now like he’s just revealed that he knows all the secrets of the universe. Confused. Upset. Uncertain.

Kyle’s heart crashes against his ribs. He tucks his hands into the sleeves of his—Mark’s—Jacob’s hoodie and bites the inside of his cheek. He doesn’t want to interrupt, but he doesn’t know if he wants to see where this is going.

A tiny, traitorous part of his brain wonders who Mark would choose, if he had to.

“You’re sorry,” Mark echoes. His voice is flat and gives nothing away. His hands are clenched on his thighs, knuckles pale, and Kyle wants to reach over and take them in his own hands, but he doesn’t move.

Jacob nods and looks away. “Everything I did, uh. I wouldn’t do it again. Not like that. It was wrong,” he says. It sounds like he practiced what he wanted to say, but it also sounds like he means it.

“Jake,” Mark says helplessly. He spreads his hands. “What do you want from me?”

Jacob’s gaze flicks to Kyle and the misery in his eyes deepens. “I don’t know anymore,” he admits, and looks back at Mark. He sighs. “We were best friends, too. I want—I want my best friend back.”

“Is that all you want?” Mark asks. His voice is still neutral.

Kyle doesn’t know what to think. He wonders if he should leave, if that—if it would hurt less that way, because he can see Jacob’s eyes and he knows that being _ just friends _ with Mark again is never, ever going to be enough for him. 

Kyle knows that because it’s a reflection of his own heart.

He braces to stand, to leave, then Jacob speaks again.

“No,” he says, and Kyle feels sick. “But.” Jacob looks at Kyle, pain in his eyes. “I can’t ask you for more. Maybe once, but.” He half smiles, nothing happy about the expression. “I was too proud. I waited too long. I guess I should’ve known, y’know, with—” He motions his head towards Kyle, but Kyle doesn’t know what he means.

“Yeah,” Mark says. His voice is soft. Gentler. “I wish it could’ve been different, too.” He sighs, tipping his head back to the ceiling, then he turns to look at Kyle. “I—”

“I should—I should go,” Kyle says. He can’t really look at Mark and Jacob’s eyes are wide when Kyle looks at him. “I’m gonna. Yeah. Um.” He stands up and crosses the room. His face burns and his eyes sting. He should’ve known, should’ve realized that he could never have what Jacob had with Mark.

He just hoped—well. It was stupid, anyway.

“Kyle,” Mark says, confusion in his voice. He catches up to Kyle before Kyle can even put his shoes on.

Kyle doesn’t have his car, but whatever. He’ll call a cab. It’s fine.

Mark catches the back of his—whoever’s hoodie, tugging him back. “What are you doing?” Mark demands.

Kyle stares at the floor. “I’m going home,” he says, wincing as his voice shakes. He feels Mark’s fingers flex in his hoodie. “I’ll. Uh. I’ll see you later.” He bites his lip and tries to step forward, but Mark doesn’t let go.

“Why?” Mark says.

Kyle is surprised enough at the answer that he turns around, dislodging Mark’s grip on him. Mark isn’t discouraged and grabs his hand. He’s staring intently at Kyle’s face, but all Kyle can see is Jacob standing at the end of the hall, arms crossed and shoulder leaning against the wall, looking for all the world like he belongs here.

“It’s okay,” Kyle says, keeping his voice low so only Mark can hear him. “I know—I know you miss him. I understand.”

Mark’s face clears as he understands what Kyle is saying, but then he looks horrified. He grips Kyle’s hand tighter. “No,” he whispers, “no, don’t go.”

“Look, it’s okay,” Kyle repeats, even though it isn’t, even though his heart feels like it’s cracking in two, “I know it’s always been him.” He _ hadn’t _ known for a while, not until today, not until he realized that he’s always going to be second best in Mark’s heart.

“Kyle,” Mark says, something pleading in his voice, “it’s not. It’s _you,_ I don’t—” He squares his shoulders, takes a deep breath, “I love _you.”_

Kyle almost doesn’t hear Jacob’s soft, broken noise over the rushing in his ears. “But,” he stammers, “but you—”

Mark kisses him, fast but still soft. He touches Kyle’s lips with his thumb when he pulls back. “But nothing,” Mark says. “Please don’t argue with me when I’m telling you I love you.”

“Mark,” Kyle says quietly. He wants to say it back, he wants to say it so _ desperately, _ then movement catches his eye and he sees Jacob stumble back into the living room like he’s been struck. Kyle drops his forehead against Mark’s shoulder. “What about him?” he murmurs.

Mark’s sigh ruffles his hair. “I don’t know what to do,” Mark admits. He squeezes Kyle’s hip. “I need—I can’t lose you. I said I wish I’d done things differently, but I wouldn’t trade what we have right now for anything.”

Kyle flushes at the words. “But you miss him,” he says. It’s not a question.

“I do,” Mark says. “We were together for a long time and best friends for even longer and it’s—it isn’t easy to forget that.” He presses his face against Kyle’s hair. “I don’t think we were good for each other a lot of the time, though.” _ Not like _ we _ are, _ goes unspoken. 

Kyle knows this much, at least. 

Mark is intense, almost intimidatingly so sometimes. Kyle gets that. He can be intense when the situation calls for it, usually on the ice, but he tries his best to be chill most of the time. To not let small things stress him out.

Jacob is too much like Mark. Instead of balancing out Mark’s intensity, he fanned the flames of it, exactly like what Mark did to him.

What Mark _ still _ does to him, Kyle amends. Kyle gets it. Mark is… a lot, sometimes. Kyle has always been good at knowing when to rein him in, or at knowing when it’s okay to get a little intense, even before that intensity was applied to a relationship.

Jacob and Mark never learned to balance each other like that. 

Kyle sighs and steps back out of Mark’s arms but hangs onto his hands, curling his fingers through Mark’s in the space between them. “You know you have to talk to him,” Kyle says gently. “It’s not fair to any of us otherwise.”

Mark nods. “I just. I don’t know what to tell him,” he admits, his eyes big and sad and silently begging Kyle to understand.

Kyle understands. How could he not? He _ knows _Mark. Maybe not as well as Jacob used to, but Jacob’s been gone for long enough that he’s missed a few things.

But, Kyle thinks, Jacob still knows him. He’s just as familiar with Mark’s emotions as Kyle is.

Kyle remembers the sadness in Jacob’s blue eyes but, more importantly, remembers the resignation in them. He’s ready to accept being just friends with Mark if it means that Mark is happy.

“He still loves you,” Kyle says, quietly. He rubs his thumbs over Mark’s knuckles. “You still love him.” He makes sure his voice isn’t accusing, keeping his voice low and gentle and doesn’t let go of Mark’s hands.

“I’m sorry,” Mark says, his voice shaky. He looks down at their joined hands, shame in his face.

“But,” Kyle says, “you love me. And I—” Here, Kyle has to pause and take a deep breath. “I love you, too.” 

“Kyle,” Mark says, something soft and fragile in his voice. “What are you saying?” Of course he knows that Kyle is trying to lead up to something important.

Kyle isn’t quite sure of what he’s trying to say himself. He lets go of Mark’s hands and takes his shoulders. “Can you just. Wait here for a minute? Please?”

“Okay,” Mark says, obviously confused but trusting that Kyle knows what he’s doing. 

Kyle can feel Mark’s gaze on his back until he rounds the corner into the living room. His breathing catches. Jacob is sitting in the armchair again, face buried in his hands and shoulders trembling as he tries to breathe. He flinches when Kyle touches his shoulder, but he doesn’t look up. He pushes his hands harder into his face like that’s somehow going to convince Kyle that he isn’t crying.

Kyle crouches on the floor in front of Jacob to give him the advantage, one hand braced on the armrest. He reaches out with his other hand to touch Jacob’s knee. 

“Jake,” he says, quiet. “I need to talk to you.”

Jacob exhales, a wet, shuddering sound, and drops his hands from his face. His face is damp and blotchy and he wipes his cheeks with the ends of his sleeves before meeting Kyle’s eyes. “What is it?” he asks, trying for flat but his voice wobbling dangerously.

“It’s about, uh,” he searches for the right word and hopes he has it, “us. Mark, you, and me. He still loves you, you know. Even after you hurt each other so bad.” He doesn’t look away from Jacob’s eyes, even as something else shines behind the tears. “I know you love him, too.”

“I already said, I don’t want to have him if it’s going to ruin what he has now. KC, you’re—you’re _ you, _ I’m not going to destroy your life for this.”

_ It’s you, _ Mark said.

_ You’re you, _Jacob said.

Kyle bites the inside of his cheek and prays that he won’t fuck everything up even more. “This might sound stupid,” Kyle warns in case Jacob shoots him down, “but I was thinking, um. You could have him, too.”

“What?” Jacob looks baffled.

“I love him,” Kyle says simply. “I don’t want to lose him, either, and this is up to him, but I thought, you know.” He bites his lip.

Something like understanding crosses Jacob’s face. “You mean the three of us?” he asks, studying Kyle’s face intensely.

He hadn’t meant that, exactly, but. “I wouldn’t be opposed,” Kyle says quietly.

He remembers his last call up, the day he’d left the Moose for good and finally took his place in the show. Jacob had slung an arm around his shoulders and shaken him, laughing loudly in his ear about how Kyle was his hometown boy before slapping his ass and bounding off to do something else.

That had been a while ago. Before Kyle had really, properly fallen head over heels for Mark. He’d stared after Jacob and felt something warm flutter in his stomach.

Then he’d seen the way Jacob pushed into Mark’s space, laced their fingers together and laughed at his bad jokes and he’d understood.

It would also be a lie if he said he’d never jerked off to the thought of Mark and Jacob together, the vague feelings of guilt he had after never enough to stop him from doing it again. Even when he realized the extent of his feelings for Mark, he sometimes dipped into those old fantasies to get himself off.

“He feels like he’s missing something without you,” Kyle admits. “Not that he’s incomplete, but. Like he keeps expecting you to be there when you’re not.”

“You’re good for him,” Jacob says, almost like he’s arguing. “You’re better for him than I ever could be.”

Kyle takes a deep breath, as if he’s standing on the edge of the dock and preparing to dive in without knowing how deep the water below is. “I could be good for you, too, if you want,” he says.

Jacob’s mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. All his tears are gone, replaced by an expression of shock. “Kyle,” he says hesitantly, “you mean it?”

“I’m not in love with you,” Kyle says, “but I think—I think I could be, if you give me the chance.” Kyle has loved him with the love of a friend, has felt hot, burning lust for him, and missed him fiercely when he left.

Eyes huge and moving like he’s in a trance, Jacob covers Kyle’s hand on the armrest. His fingers are warm and his skin is rough with calluses but his touch is gentle, almost tentative. His throat works like he thinks he should say something but he doesn’t know what.

“Look,” Kyle says. He pauses. Swallows. “If I said I’d never thought about you like that, I’d be lying.” He smiles, a tiny, sheepish thing. “Sorry?” He clears his throat. “It’s okay if you don’t want to,” he says. “I know that—that you just want Mark, but I thought, um—” He breaks off when Jacob touches his cheek.

“I don’t, uh.” Jacob blinks slowly, staring at where his thumb is pressed to Kyle’s skin. He sweeps it over the arch of his cheekbone and licks his lips unconsciously. “I’ve never thought of it like that before.” He doesn’t sound upset, just curious. And there’s something almost hopeful in his eyes.

“I wanted to talk to you first,” Kyle says. He catches Jacob’s wrist in a loose grip, keeping his hand held against his face. “What should I tell Mark?”

“Tell him…” Jacob exhales. “Tell him I think it’s a good idea.” He smiles carefully.

Kyle grins back and stands up. Jacob drops his hand and watches Kyle go.

Mark is leaning against the wall and scrolling through his phone, but he straightens when Kyle comes back around the corner. “Hey,” he says. “What’s up?”

Kyle kisses him quickly, taking Mark by surprise judging by his confused blink. “I had an idea,” he says. “I just wanted to talk to Jake about it first.”

“Okay,” Mark says. He tilts his head. “Tell me?”

Kyle tells him.

He speaks quickly, hoping he can explain everything before Mark can interrupt. His gaze shifts away from Mark’s face to stare at the wall as nervousness mounts in his chest. He finishes and bites his lip.

“And you really want this?” Mark asks softly. “You’re not just doing this for me?” 

Kyle nods and looks at the floor. “I think it would be good for both of us. For all of us.”

Mark curls his fingers under Kyle’s chin and tips his face up. He’s smiling. “Kyle,” he murmurs then, like he can’t stop himself, he leans in to kiss Kyle deeply. “I love you,” he breathes, almost speaking against Kyle’s mouth.

Kyle grins and kisses him back, winding his arms around Mark’s neck. “Love you, too,” he says. He grabs Mark’s hand and tugs him forward a step. “Let’s go.”

Jacob is still in the armchair when they come back, looking at them with big, hopeful eyes. Kyle leads Mark to the couch and they sit down, then Kyle shifts over and pats the cushion between them with an expectant glance at Jacob.

“Oh,” Jacob says softly, standing up and crossing the room to settle between them.

He sits almost stiffly, like he still isn’t sure he should be here, so Kyle looks past him to Mark.

Mark barely hesitates before wrapping an arm around Jacob’s shoulders and pulling him close. Jacob leans his head against Mark’s shoulder and sighs. Tension bleeds out of him and he closes his eyes for a moment.

Kyle watches, then something brushes against the back of his hand. He looks down to see Jacob’s fingers tentatively slide against his own, like he isn’t sure if he’s welcome to lace them together properly.

Kyle turns his hand over so their palms are pressed together and pushes his fingers between Jacob’s, squeezing lightly.

It’s nice. It feels good—it feels right, for Mark and Jacob to have each other and for Kyle to maybe, almost have both of them. Mark’s fingers brush over Kyle’s shoulder and curl into the loose fabric of his hoodie.

“So,” Jacob says eventually, breaking the comfortable silence. “What’s the play?”

“Summer,” Mark says. “Thanksgiving, Christmas, the All-Star Break. Long distance the rest of the season.” There’s a sadness to his voice when he says that, but it’s not as resigned as usual.

Jacob’s hand tightens on Kyle’s and Kyle rubs his thumb over his knuckles reassuringly. “It’s going to be hard,” he says. “Are you sure you won’t, uh. Never mind, it’s stupid.”

Kyle nudges him in the ribs. “Tell us,” he says gently. 

“It’s stupid,” Jacob repeats, embarrassed, but he sighs when Mark shakes him a little. “Okay. What if you decide you don’t—that you’re fine without me?” His voice is small.

“Jake,” Mark says, so soft. His arm slides off Jacob’s shoulders and he turns to face Jacob, bringing his hands up to cup his cheeks. 

He doesn’t say anything more before leaning in to kiss him.

Jacob makes a muffled noise against Mark’s mouth, his free hand curling around the back of his neck. Kyle lets go of his hand so his arm isn’t bent at such an awkward angle, and he traces his fingers lightly over the warm skin of Jacob’s forearm, making him shiver.

He watches Mark kiss Jacob, not feeling the jealousy he might have expected earlier. They kiss with easy familiarity and something else underneath, like they’re rediscovering each other. Mark pulls away finally, Jacob breathing hard beside him. Mark’s gaze flicks to Kyle and he reaches for him.

Kyle meets him halfway, kneeling up and leaning over Jacob to kiss Mark. Mark’s mouth is slick from exchanging deep kisses with Jacob. It’s so hot. Kyle nips at his bottom lip and Mark shudders.

A hand presses against Kyle’s stomach, sliding up to press to his chest. Mark has both hands in his hair, so it’s not him.

He pulls away from Mark to see Jacob’s hand move up his chest, then curl around the back of his neck. He looks up at Kyle and raises an eyebrow. 

Kissing Jacob is different. Both he and Kyle kiss Mark like it’s easy because they’re used to it. Kyle has never kissed Jacob before. 

He decides he likes it.

Jacob slips his tongue into his mouth and he decides he likes it a _ lot. _

Mark makes a noise on the couch beside them while they kiss and Kyle pulls back enough to grin at Jacob before grazing his teeth over the soft skin behind his ear.

“Do you want to give him a show?” Kyle mumbles, catching Jacob’s earlobe in his teeth.

Jacob shivers. “Mmhm,” he manages.

Kyle slings a leg over Jacob’s thighs to straddle his lap and ducks down to kiss him again. He’s not afraid to use his teeth this time and Jacob groans into his mouth, hands pushing up beneath his hoodie.

He digs his fingers into the spaces between Kyle’s ribs and it’s Kyle’s turn to tremble. Every brush against Kyle’s skin lights up something hot and fierce inside him and Kyle gives back as good as he gets.

“Oh my god,” Mark breathes. His voice is weak and shaky, cracking on the last syllable.

Jacob turns his head to look at Mark and Kyle returns his mouth to his neck, pressing soft kisses to his throat and tugging his sweater collar down to nip at his collarbone. He can hear the wet sounds of Jacob and Mark kissing and heat curls in his belly. 

“Take it—” Jacob breaks off to gasp in a breath. “Take it off, please.” He fumbles with his sweater, trying to help Kyle pull it over his head.

Mark helps, too, and the three of them manage to pull Jacob’s sweater off. Kyle sits back on Jacob’s knees to look at him, reaching out and dragging his hands over Jacob’s bare torso. Jacob’s hands slide up the outsides of Kyle’s thighs and tug at the hem of his hoodie.

“You look good in this,” Jacob says, his eyes dark, “but I think you’d look better out of it.”

“What a frickin’ line,” Mark mutters, but he’s smiling fondly. He ducks in to kiss Jacob’s bare shoulder while Kyle pulls his hoodie over his head. 

“I don’t hear any complaining,” Jacob says smugly. He looks Kyle up and down and bites his lip.

Kyle kisses that smug smirk off his face, bracing his arms against the back of the couch on either side of Jacob’s head. Jacob squeaks unexpectedly and Kyle moves back enough to see that Mark is touching his nipples. While Kyle watches, Mark digs his fingernail into one and Jacob moans, his head falling back as he arches into it.

“Fuh-uck,” Jacob chokes out, eyes squeezed shut as Mark drags his calloused fingertips over his chest. He’s hard, his dick pressed against Kyle’s, and his hips jerk up almost desperately as he chases his pleasure.

Kyle leans in to mouth at his throat, then down to his chest where he can lick at Jacob’s nipples. The reaction he gets from Jacob is extremely gratifying. One of his hands fists in Kyle’s hair to hold him in place as he whines high in his throat, his breathing ragged.

“Oh god,” Jacob says, “oh fuck, oh, _ ah, _ oh _ god, _ Kyle—” He whimpers.

Trying not to laugh, Kyle lets him feel the barest scrape of his teeth.

“He’s good with his mouth, isn’t he,” says Mark. His fingers drag across Jacob’s chest to press against Kyle’s lips and inside.

It’s easy to suck on Mark’s fingers, staring at Jacob through his eyelashes while Mark presses against his tongue. Mark slides his fingers out and circles them around Jacob’s nipples, leaving them wet with spit and making Jacob twitch.

“How good?” Jacob breathes, his fingers loosening in Kyle’s hair. 

“Do you want to see?” Kyle asks. He pushes his tongue against the inside of his cheek. Just in case his offer isn’t obvious enough.

Jacob looks at Mark, wide-eyed.

“Don’t look at me,” Mark says, grinning. “He’s the one offering.” 

Kyle smiles at him.

“Oh,” Jacob says faintly. “Yes, please.”

Kyle slides out of his lap to kneel between his legs. Mark undoes the fly of his jeans for him, plastered up against Jacob’s side and still touching his chest. Kyle tugs Jacob’s jeans down his thighs so he can get to his dick.

It’s not like he’s never seen Jacob’s dick before, but he’s never seen it hard. He’s also never been preparing to suck it. 

He doesn’t let that phase him for longer than a second. He leans in and licks the tip, tasting his precome. Jacob moans.

“You can pull my hair if you want,” Kyle says, then he gets down to business.

He wraps his lips around the tip of Jacob’s dick and sucks lightly, testing his response, then he slides down until he can’t anymore. He wraps his hand around what he can’t reach and sucks hard.

Jacob’s moan breaks high in his throat and his hips shift. He catches himself before he can thrust up into Kyle’s mouth, which Kyle appreciates. He likes it sometimes, getting his face fucked, but he prefers it with some warning. 

Jacob is so _ loud. _ He gasps and moans and swears, shaking underneath Kyle’s mouth on his cock and Mark’s fingers on his chest. One hand tangles in Kyle’s hair. The other ends up fisted in Mark’s hoodie.

Kyle pulls off long enough to frown at Mark. “Why are you still wearing your shirt?” he asks and doesn’t wait to see what Mark does about it before returning to Jacob’s dick.

He hears the sound of shifting fabric above him, then Mark’s hoodie hits the floor a couple feet away.

Kyle grinds the heel of his hand against his dick, trying to relieve the aching pressure in his belly. He moans helplessly around Jacob’s cock. 

A second hand lands in his hair. Mark’s, this time, brushing longer strands behind his ear and making him shiver. He doesn’t pull like Jacob, keeping his touches gentle and grounding.

He waits until Jacob’s noises are almost feverish in pitch, then he pulls off again. Jacob’s fingers tug uselessly at his hair, his lips parted on a silent gasp. Kyle rubs his thumb over his inner thigh until his breathing evens out, his eyes fixed on where Mark is mouthing at his jaw. 

Jacob lets Kyle tug his jeans the rest of the way down, leaving him naked on the couch. Kyle climbs back up into his lap and kisses him, lets Jacob taste himself. Mark grabs a piece of his hair, urging Kyle to turn his head so he can taste, too.

“Hey,” Kyle says, pulling away to catch his breath. He looks down at Jacob, notices his flushed cheeks and chest and his dark, half-open eyes. The heat in his belly burns hotter and he shivers. “Mark was going to fuck me before you got here if you want to, you know.” He grinds his hips down, rocking against Jacob and groaning softly at the friction. He swallows hard. Licks his lips. “If you want to join."

“Please,” Jacob breathes, looking between him and Mark, “please, can I?”

Mark giggles and kisses him quickly. “‘Course,” he murmurs. “You can go first, if you want. Open him up.” 

Kyle nips at Jacob’s jaw to let him know how into that he is. He jerks forward when Jacob grabs his ass, pulling him in to grind their hips together.

“Yeah,” he says. “Let’s do it.”

The three of them manage to get off the couch without tripping over each other or the clothes that are already on the floor, stumbling down the hallway to Mark’s bedroom as quickly as they can. Kyle yanks his sweats off as soon as he’s in the room, hopping onto the bed and crawling up to grab the lube and condoms out of the nightstand. 

He turns around to see Jacob and Mark making out at the end of the bed. Mark managed to get his pants off at some point and they’re pressed together, one of Jacob’s hands tight on Mark’s waist and holding him close. His other hand slides up to splay over his chest, pressing against a bruise left from one of his own shots that Mark had blocked. Mark makes a quiet noise against Jacob’s mouth and pushes closer.

There’s that intensity. Kyle lies back, propped up by the pillows, and reaches down to take his cock in his hand. He bites back a moan, stroking himself slowly as Jacob’s hands drop to Mark’s ass. Mark catches Jacob’s bottom lip between his teeth, making him whine, and rocks forward to grind against his thigh.

The sound of the lube cap being popped open has Jacob and Mark pulling apart to look at Kyle. Kyle stares Mark in the eyes as he slicks up his fingers, then he spreads his legs and draws up a knee so he can reach down to press two fingers to his hole. He exhales, eyelids fluttering, and presses the first finger inside.

Mark looks stunned, his mouth hanging open in that adorable way it does when he’s shocked. Jacob’s eyes can’t settle, flicking over his face, his legs, his ass. His hands twitch.

Kyle curls his finger and shivers, biting his lip as he smirks. “Are you gonna, uhm. Help?” He slips a second finger into his hole and it seems to break whatever spell was over the others.

Mark is the first to reach him, kneeling on the mattress so he can lean down to kiss him. His mouth is slick and hot and he doesn’t hesitate to get his tongue into Kyle’s mouth. Kyle kisses back eagerly, arching up to deepen the kiss.

One of Jacob’s hands lands on his ankle, his palm warm and rough, and runs up his calf, the side of his knee, his inner thigh. The touch is light and tickles against the hair on Kyle’s leg. Kyle shudders, his fingers twitching inside himself.

Jacob’s fingers brush against his own and Kyle pulls away from Mark’s mouth to half-prop himself up on one elbow, looking down at Jacob. He curls his fingers and gasps softly. Jacob’s fingers press a little harder and he looks to Kyle, silently asking for permission.

“Please,” Kyle manages, his voice wavering.

Without hesitation, Jacob grabs the lube and spreads it over his fingers. Meanwhile, Mark pulls Kyle halfway into his lap, hooking his chin over Kyle’s shoulder so he can watch, too.

Jacob grabs Kyle’s wrist and pulls his hand out of the way. Kyle whimpers at the loss, twisting his hand in the bedsheets. He’s not left wanting for long.

Jacob pushes two fingers in smoothly, giving them the little curl needed to press against Kyle’s prostate.

With his free hand, Kyle fumbles for Mark’s hand, tangling their fingers together over his stomach and pushing back onto Jacob’s hand. Mark sets his teeth against Kyle’s shoulder and gets to work on leaving a mark there. Jacob pushes up to hold himself over them, dropping a kiss to Kyle’s mouth before leaning over his shoulder to kiss Mark.

His fingers don’t stop moving inside Kyle while he makes out with Mark. He even adds a third finger and rubs over Kyle’s prostate before tearing himself away from Mark’s mouth to suck a bruise to Kyle’s throat. They’re so _ much _ all at once; Mark, solid and warm against his back, and Jacob, mouth hot on Kyle’s skin and fingers thick inside him.

Jacob spreads his fingers and digs his teeth into Kyle’s throat.

Kyle’s fingers tighten so hard on Mark’s hand that Mark sucks in a sharp, pained breath, but he doesn’t try to let go. Kyle drops his head back onto Mark’s shoulder, his eyes falling shut as heat builds at the base of his spine. He thinks he could come like this, on nothing but Jacob’s fingers.

He _ does _ have something else in mind, though.

“Okay,” Kyle manages, swatting at Jacob’s wrist. “I’m good, I’m good. You can stop or I’m, uh. Um.”

Jacob looks at him curiously. “You’re what?” he asks. He rubs over Kyle’s prostate once more and giggles that stupid, endearing, goofy laugh of his when Kyle squeaks.

“Or I’m gonna _ come,” _ Kyle snaps, “and I don’t want to do that before you fuck me properly.”

“Oh,” Jacob says. He pulls his fingers out. “Yeah.” He shoots an unsubtle glance at Mark.

Mark laughs softly and Kyle feels it through his whole body. “He can,” Mark says.

“I can show off later,” Kyle grumbles and decides that, since they’re both being morons, that it’s time to take matters into his own hands.

He pushes himself up, knocking Jacob back onto the mattress and climbing on top of him. He straddles Jacob’s waist and leans down to kiss him slowly, letting Jacob deepen it and lick into his mouth. Jacob’s hands settle on his thighs and his fingers dig in hard enough to make Kyle gasp.

Jacob’s head drops back abruptly and he moans, twitching underneath Kyle. Kyle is confused until he looks over his shoulder and sees Mark rolling a condom onto Jacob’s cock before spreading liberal amounts of lube onto it.

Finished, Mark crawls up behind Kyle and kisses the bite mark on his shoulder. “You ready?” he asks softly. His hands slide around to settle over Kyle’s sternum. 

“Yeah,” Kyle answers. He looks down at Jacob and swallows. “What about you, Jake?”

“If you don’t get on my dick soon, I am literally going to die,” Jacob says amicably. 

Mark snorts and presses his smile against the back of Kyle’s neck. Kyle traces his fingers over one of Jacob’s hickeys and presses down against one when his breathing hitches. 

“Well,” Kyle says slowly, “I don’t want to kill you.” He still takes his sweet time shifting back over Jacob’s dick and lining himself up, breathing deeply before lowering himself down.

Mark rubs his back, steadying him and reminding him to keep breathing. Jacob’s fingers flex on his hips and he bites down hard on the inside of his cheek, obviously trying very hard to keep his hips flat against the mattress and not thrust up the rest of the way. Kyle strokes a thumb over one of his nipples in appreciation.

Jacob chokes on his moan as Kyle settles down completely, his hips pressed to Kyle’s ass. Kyle’s head falls forward and he sucks in a breath, trembling a little at the ache. It feels good, if a little overwhelming. The only reason he doesn’t sway forward any farther is Mark’s arm wrapping around his waist to keep him upright.

Kyle doesn’t move for a minute, trying to adjust and remember how to breathe properly while Jacob shuts his eyes and counts his breaths. Then, slow and steady, Kyle lifts himself up until his thighs are trembling and only the head of Jacob’s dick is inside him, then he drops back down with a gasp.

Sparks of pleasure dance up his spine and he digs his fingertips into Jacob’s chest to brace himself and do it again. 

This time, Jacob moans out loud when he bottoms out. _ “God, _ Kyle,” he says, strangled. “You feel so fucking good.” His thumbs press into Kyle’s hip bones. 

“Mmhm?” Kyle licks his lips and lifts up again. He’s the one to groan this time, his hips angled so Jacob’s cock rubs against his prostate.

“Yeah-_ah, _ fuck,” Jacob pants. His hairline is damp with sweat and his hips are working in tiny, almost imperceptible movements to meet Kyle when he comes down.

_ Almost _ imperceptible. Every shift of Jacob’s body arches through Kyle’s like lightning, electrifying, lighting up every nerve in his body.

Mark’s hand dips down to the crease of Kyle’s thigh, so close to his dick but determinedly not touching. Kyle whines through his teeth in complaint. Mark just kisses the side of his neck.

“You’ll just complain more if you come now and I do you later,” Mark reminds him, which is true, but still. Rude.

Kyle just presses Jacob harder against the mattress and works his hips faster. Jacob is so _ loud, _ so responsive to every touch, and Kyle realizes that he’s desperate to see how loud Jacob can get.

He doesn’t lift up this time, just settles down so Jacob’s dick is deep inside him and grinds his hips in slow circles, fingernails digging pale crescents into Jacob’s chest. He clenches around Jacob a couple times just to hear him moan. Jacob’s hands are tight on his hips, but not tight enough to keep him from moving how he wants.

It occurs to Kyle that, if Jacob wanted to, he could just _ move _ him. Both him and Mark have two inches and almost thirty pounds on him and could toss him around easily if they really wanted, but Jacob is letting him do what he wants. Letting him _ take _ what he wants.

That makes Kyle a little bit dizzy.

He almost _ wants _ Jacob to use that advantage. He wonders how it would feel to be on his hands and knees, Jacob behind him with his hands tight on his hips just like they are now, and putting that strength into his thrusts to pound into Kyle and take what _ he _ wants.

Or, Kyle wonders, what it would be like to lie on his back with Jacob between his legs, his knees pushed up and his hands on the headboard to keep himself from getting hurt while Jacob fucks him.

His mouth goes dry and he has to try swallowing a couple times.

Then he thinks about how easily Jacob let him take control. He wonders if Jacob would let Kyle hold him down for real, let Kyle bite bruises into the backs of his shoulders while he fucks him.

The touch of Mark’s fingers at his hole snaps him out of his fantasies and he chokes on a moan when he realizes how close he is. Mark pulls his fingers away, but the heat blazing low in his belly doesn’t leave.

He remembers what Mark said earlier. He leans forward so his mouth is close to Jacob’s ear and whispers, “You can do it, take what you want. I know you want to come. I want you to come.”

Jacob stares up at him when he settles back into place, but he recovers quickly. His hands go tight enough around Kyle’s hips to hold him in place. This time, Kyle really can’t move. He just waits for Jacob to do… something.

Mark moves back and lies down beside Jacob to play with his nipples some more. _ That _ starts him up again.

Jacob holds Kyle where he wants him and fucks up into him _ hard, _ chasing his release. He’s not completely focused on Kyle’s pleasure but he still grazes his prostate a few times, and Kyle has nothing to muffle his punched-out noises except his hands. And he needs his hands to keep himself from falling over.

He’d be embarrassed about how loud he gets if Mark hadn’t heard it all before and if Jacob wasn’t being just as loud, if not _ louder. _

Jacob is trying unsuccessfully to bite back the worst of the noises that he wants to make but he’s still crying out every time he thrusts in, like it’s almost too much for him. His hands flex on Kyle’s hips and Kyle shudders, trying to clench around his cock to help him along.

Mark laces his fingers through Jacob’s on Kyle’s hip and Jacob comes with a strangled shout. His hips work up into Kyle as he fucks him through his orgasm, shivering as he comes down. Kyle’s legs are kind of shaky as he lifts himself up and off of Jacob’s lap. 

He can’t help his tiny whimper as Jacob’s cock slips out of him. He lets Mark move him, kind of helping but not very effectively, and he flops down on the sheets with a sigh. 

He hasn’t come yet, but that fierce burning under his skin has settled somewhat. He can wait. He can be patient. He turns to look at Jacob, looking at the pulse point under his ear. His heart is racing. Kyle reaches out to press two fingers against it.

Jacob jumps before he realizes what Kyle is doing, then he relaxes. Mark’s fingers thread through Jacob’s hair and he kisses him sweetly. Kyle watches, rocking his hips down against the bed a little bit and trying to take the edge off.

Eventually, Jacob’s heartbeat slows under Kyle’s fingers and his breathing evens out when Mark pulls back with one last kiss. 

Mark looks over at Kyle and raises an eyebrow. They don’t need words for this, but Kyle answers him out loud anyway.

“C’mon,” he mumbles, voice muffled by the pillow. He lifts his hips up expectantly.

“Okay, okay,” Mark says, snatching the second condom and rolling it on, slicking his cock before settling over Kyle. He’s heavy and warm and his fingers are gentle when he brushes Kyle’s sweaty hair away from his neck. His lips are soft against Kyle’s skin.

Kyle sighs when Mark pushes inside with one smooth thrust. He curls his fingers in the sheets and pushes back against it as best he can with Mark’s body weighing him down. Mark sets his teeth into the crook of his neck and shoulder and fucks him with slow, grinding thrusts.

This makes Kyle feel like he’s burning up, too, but not with the same wild intensity he’d felt when Jacob fucked him. That had felt like a wildfire. This feels more like magma, slow and hot in his veins.

“Fuck,” Kyle breathes, dragging out the word on a long exhale. “‘S good.”

Mark gasps softly, a punched out noise right into Kyle’s skin, and his next thrust is just a bit harder. Kyle bites down on the pillow, a tiny moan catching in his throat as the movement pushes him up the bed.

He manages a breathless laugh anyway, half-muffled against the pillow. “Mm,” he says, arching his back lazily. “C’mon, I wanna—” His voice breaks and he has to suck in a breath to collect himself. “Wanna feel it tomorrow, _ uhn, _ so fucking good, _ Mark—” _ His toes curl and he whines, high in his throat.

Mark’s breathing is ragged and hot against his skin between the biting kisses he’s leaving behind. There’s no way all these marks are going to fade by Friday, Kyle thinks, a little hazily. He doesn’t care.

One of Jacob’s hands finds his in the mess of sheets and he lets Kyle hold onto him while he falls apart. Kyle turns away from the pillow to look at Jacob’s flushed face and dark eyes. He pulls Jacob’s hand up to his mouth and lets Jacob push two fingers into his mouth.

The fingers in his mouth muffle his moans a bit, but not enough to hide the way his sounds are getting higher in pitch. Between Mark’s cock in his ass and the way his dick grinds against the mattress every time Mark fucks into him, his orgasm is building again and he’s racing towards the edge.

“Mmngh,” Kyle manages to groan around Jacob’s fingers, then his hips jerk and he comes all over the sheets. He shudders when Mark doesn’t stop, squeezing around him to get him off faster. He nips halfheartedly at Jacob’s fingertips as Jacob slides his fingers out of his mouth.

“Oh, fu-_uh,” _ Mark gasps, burying his face in the crook of Kyle’s neck as he comes. His hips rock forward in short, small movements as he finishes in the condom. He waits until they’ve caught their breath before brushing a soft kiss over the back of Kyle’s neck and pulling out. He rolls off of Kyle and goes to get rid of the condom, then stumbles off to the bathroom.

Kyle shivers, still lying in the wet spot but not too keen on moving. He flexes his fingers in the sheets and exhales on a shuddery breath. 

“Kyle,” Jacob mumbles. He pats the back of Kyle’s hand. “Come.” He hooks his pinky finger through Kyle’s and tugs a little.

With effort, Kyle squirms out of the wet spot and closer to Jacob. Jacob wraps an arm around his waist and heaves him over so that he’s lying half on top of him. Kyle wraps an arm around his waist and tangles their legs together, tucking his head against Jacob’s shoulder.

Jacob’s warm hand runs up and down his spine in time with Kyle’s breathing. Jacob presses his nose against Kyle’s hair and they lie there like that until Mark gets back with a damp cloth. 

He’s not super polite about it, bullying Kyle off of Jacob so he can wipe him off briskly, then he does the same thing to Jacob before returning to the bathroom to dispose of the cloth. 

Kyle rolls back on top of Jacob.

Eventually, Jacob speaks. “This is nice,” he murmurs.

“Mm,” Kyle agrees. He rubs his cheek against Jacob’s shoulder. “You have a nice dick,” he adds after a moment of consideration.

Jacob is silent for a second, then he laughs. He shakes with it, threatening to dislodge Kyle and send him tumbling back into the wet spot, but Kyle just clings tighter and grins. He manages to get himself under control. “Thanks,” Jacob says. “You, too.” Kyle can’t see his face, but he thinks he’s smiling.

“Maybe next time,” Kyle says. He pauses. “You know.”

“Don’t say that,” Jacob whines. “It’s too soon for me to go again.” 

Kyle leans up to kiss his cheek. “You’ll survive,” he says.

Mark slides back into bed on Jacob’s other side. His bed is big enough that there’s plenty of room for the three of them on the dry sheets if they press close together. Mark wraps an arm around Jacob’s waist and nudges him onto his side so he can spoon him properly.

Kyle burrows into Jacob’s chest and reaches across his body to rest his hand on Mark’s hip. It’s good, touching both of them. He tilts his head so he can press a kiss to the underside of Jacob’s jaw.

Mark kisses the back of Jacob’s shoulder. “Missed this,” he murmurs.

“I know,” Jacob says. “Nobody’s as good at being the big spoon as you.”

“That’s frickin’ right,” Mark agrees. He sounds sleepy.

Jacob snorts and exchanges an amused look with Kyle. Kyle just rolls his eyes with fond exasperation.

Mark falls asleep quickly, his breathing slow and even. Kyle traces his fingers over his hip bone.

“How long can you stay?” he asks eventually.

Jacob sighs. “Not long,” he answers. “The guys will cover for me for a while, but I should be there in the morning.”

That’s about what Kyle figured. He still doesn’t like it. “He’s not going to like that he didn’t get to say goodbye.”

“I know,” Jacob says. “But tonight—I mean, I don’t need a goodbye.”

Kyle nods against his chest. He understands.

“You really do love him, don’t you,” Jacob says unexpectedly. “I guess it was obvious but I thought it was—I don’t know. I thought it was just a crush.”

“It was,” Kyle admits. “Then over the summer when I thought about signing, all I could think about was him. That’s when I knew for real.”

Jacob doesn’t say anything about the fact that him being gone might have helped that little realization along, even though they both know it’s true. “You’re a good guy, Kyle,” he says instead. He flattens his hand between Kyle’s shoulder blades. “Better than—”

Kyle presses his fingers to Jacob’s lips. “Don’t say it,” he whispers. “It’s not fair, okay? It’s not fair.”

“Okay,” Jacob mumbles against his fingers, blinking at Kyle through the dark.

Kyle takes one of Jacob’s hands, holding it tight between their bodies. “You have Mark again,” Kyle says firmly, “and you have me, too.” He kisses Jacob, soft and sweet and warm.

Jacob answers with a tiny nod and leans their foreheads together. “Thank you,” he breathes.

Kyle hugs him as well as he can from the awkward position and holds him tight for a few more quiet minutes.

“I do have to go,” Jacob says finally, regret in his eyes.

Kyle shifts back so Jacob can untangle himself from Mark and sit up. Mark grumbles sleepily but doesn’t wake up, only curling his hand into the warm sheets that Jacob leaves behind. Before getting out of bed, Jacob leans down to press a soft kiss to Mark’s forehead.

Kyle follows Jacob out of the bedroom, pulling on his boxers as he goes. Jacob’s clothes are all still on the living room floor. Kyle picks his phone out of the mess before straightening up to watch him get dressed.

Then he has an idea.

He grabs his hoodie—Jacob’s old hoodie—and holds it out for Jacob to take. Jacob takes it, looking confused.

“Take it back,” Kyle says. “It was ours for a while, now it should be yours again.” He smiles. “Trade you?”

Jacob grins and hands him the sweater he’d been wearing earlier before pulling on the gray hoodie. “Thanks, KC,” he says.

Kyle pulls on Jacob’s sweater. It’s loose around his shoulders and neck the same way the gray hoodie is. The sleeves are just a little too long. He tucks his hair behind his ear and grins.

Jacob puts his shoes and coat on, then turns to look at Kyle one more time. “I’ll see you soon,” he says. He speaks firmly and Kyle really believes that Jacob means it.

“Not too soon, I hope,” Kyle says, only half-teasing. Hey, he _ is _ a hockey player. He steps close and curls a hand around the back of Jacob’s neck as an apology.

“I know,” Jacob says, and he ducks down for a kiss. “But I will see you.” He tugs at the hem of Kyle’s boxers. “Skype?”

Kyle kisses his jaw. “Good point,” he decides. He kisses the corner of Jacob’s mouth. “Good luck in Minnesota. Let us know how your flight goes.”

Jacob hugs him surprisingly tight. “I will,” he says. He kisses Kyle’s hair. “Bye, Kyle.”

“Bye, Jake,” Kyle answers, and he smiles when Jacob looks back one last time.

Mark is still sleeping when Kyle goes back to bed, but he half-wakes when Kyle squirms into his arms, hugging Kyle into his chest. Jacob was right; Mark is the best big spoon.

“He’s gone?” Mark mumbles into Kyle’s spine.

“Mm. Curfew.”

“Ah.” Mark nudges his nose against Kyle’s back.

Kyle finds Mark’s hand where it’s resting over his stomach and laces their fingers together. “We’ll see him again in a couple months,” Kyle promises. “And I think we could make some Skype dates happen. You know?”

Mark’s laugh is a warm exhale against Kyle’s skin. “I know,” he agrees. “Goodnight, Kyle. Love you.”

“Night,” Kyle says. He burrows deeper into the pillow. “Love you, too.”

Mark’s arm tightens around his waist and he’s asleep within minutes.

Kyle stays awake a while longer, comfortable and warm but not ready for the day to end, not yet. The room is mostly dark; the only light the hazy orange of the streetlamp through the crack in the curtains. It’s late enough now that there’s hardly any sounds of traffic from the streets below and all he can hear is the steady sound of Mark breathing behind him.

He brushes his thumb gently over Mark’s knuckles and looks at the nightstand. The outline of his phone is black in the darkness of the room. Kyle thinks about how easy it will be to pick it up and call Jacob later.

He pictures the way Mark will smile when Jacob answers the phone, hearing his voice from so far away. He imagines long—but not _ too _ long—summers at home in Michigan, Jacob practically down the street and Mark coming across the border to visit. Kitchener is only a couple hours away, after all. Both of them in his bed. He _wants._

Kyle shuts his eyes and breathes in the faint scent of Jacob’s shampoo, still lingering in the sheets.

He already can’t wait for summer.

**Author's Note:**

> if someone could explain to me, like, Why i decided to write this that would be cool because i do not know!
> 
> i DID found this pairing and i DID write this exclusively for my own purposes but hopefully you also enjoyed lol because i have another (but much more wild) concept for them planned out. so.
> 
> wrote most of this a while ago and then had to watch that entire disgusting game to finish. i hate the jets. they disgrace me constantly. and for what.
> 
> [tumblr](https://symphony7inamajor.tumblr.com)
> 
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